After Death
by ScarlettFiona
Summary: I died. I knew I did from the moment it stopped burning. I died on June 20 at the North Magnetic Pole. I was just trying to help Barry and Bart. Now I watch over my friends and family. Maybe I can help them, just a little. *A/N I based the idea off you 'The Lovely Bones'*
1. The News

I died. I knew I did from the moment it stopped burning. I died on June 20 at the North Magnetic Pole. I was just trying to help Barry and Bart.

When I got to the place a woman named Franny approached me. When I asked who she was and where I was.

She looked at me and said, "Wally you know you're dead. Welcome to your own little heaven."

I stared at her with confusion. "Is anyone else here?"

Franny shook her head. "Wally this is your place, friends and family that have died will come to see you when your ready. The Big Place is somewhere else. You can go there, but that will mean leaving the living." She looked down. I guessed she could see her own friends and family. I thought about her last sentence.

"What do you mean leave the living?" I asked. Was I still partly alive?

"Wally focus on the Earth." Franny said as she fiddled with a clipboard.

I focused on the Earth as Franny said and I saw them.

I saw Barry being helped by Aqualad. Bart being helped by M'gann. As Aqualad started to say that they had won Artemis was looking around frantically, then interrupted him.

"Wait! Where's Wally?" She turned to Barry with utter confusion. Barry walked up to her.

"Artemis," He has pure grief across his face. "he wanted me to tell you,"

"No, no." Artemis' voice is barley a whisper.

"he loved you." Barry placed his hands on her shoulders. Artemis has tears running down her face. She closes her eyes and falls to the ground on her knees. She covers her face with one hand. M'gann rushes over and hugs her. She weeps as quietly as she can.

The rest of the team hangs their heads. Barry has silent tears, as does Bart. Dick moves over to Artemis and M'gann. He places a hand on Artemis' shoulder. Artemis is speaking quietly, but only little "No"'s, and the occasional "Wally" are able to understand.

After some time M'gann got Artemis to stand up and Barry and Bart offered to take her home. Barry and Bart got into the bio ship with Artemis drove the ship in silence. Artemis asked half way though the trip if instead they could go to my parents house, saying that they should go to them that Wally had... died. Barry and Bart agreed.

I stopped looking for a moment and turned to Franny.

"So I'm dead but I can watch my friends and family from here?" I asked. Franny looked at me and nodded.

"Wally," She said sternly. "you should really keep watching." She turned around and walked away.

As they got to the my parent's house, they put on the spare changes of cloths kept in the bio ship and then left it at the zetatube. Barry and Bart walked a little slower than Artemis. When they approached the house Barry and Bart stopped by the mailbox. Artemis didn't notice and continued to walk. She go to the door and knocked softly twice. My mother and father answered, which surprised Artemis because it was eleven o'clock in the night.

She didn't even get a single word out before crying. My parents quickly brought her into a hug. Artemis grasped onto my mother and father's shirts as if her life depended on it. Barry and Bart walked forward and joined in as well. When my mother invited them into the house and they all sat down she asked what had happened.

"What did Wally do?" She asked firstly. Artemis' stomach felt queasy at the mention of my name.

"He, he didn't no anything . But something terrible has happened." She had tears in her eyes. She looked at Barry and Bart for help. The two of them nodded though Barry was the first one to speck.

"Mary, Wally's dead." Barry said. He stood there for a moment.

My mother looked at him with pure shock. She shook her head.

"He wanted me to tell you two, as well as Artemis, that he loved you." He sat down and put his hands in his hands. He wept quietly. Bart did the same but just wiped his away. Artemis started crying and pressed the palms of her hands against partly her forehead and partly her temples.

My father and mother stared in disbelief.

"But, we just found out you're alive, is this just another trick?" Mary looked at all three of them going from Artemis to Barry to Bart.

My father ran his hand though his hair and had small tears starting to fall from his eyes. My mother then realized that this, in fact, was not a joke and broke into a loud sob. She buried her face into my father's chest. So they all sat there quietly crying.

I didn't know what to do. Could I like, at least help them or something. My girlfriend and family, all just crying.

For hours I sat there and watched them for hours. Artemis left first, at around midnight. I followed her to our apartment. When she got there she had to apatite and walked to the bedroom to try to sleep. She would talk to her mother in the morning. Call and say that she had to leave Stanford for some time. Maybe she could take a semester or two off. She would have to tell them that I had died. But she then realized that they didn't even know she was alive. Which she was wrong about, I told the school she was having family problems.

She didn't want to think about this now. She curled up into bed before realizing how cold it was. She didn't want to sleep her alone.

She got up and walked over to the couch were our lovable pit bull Nelson was sleeping. She picked up the small dog, he was still a puppy, and sat in his spot. She placed him on her chest and started to pet him. She started to smell a familiar scent, which just happened to be mine

_Wally._

I had slept their while she has been undercover. I didn't like the coldness of the bed either. The bad part was that when I was sleeping there, it only smelt of Nelson.

She curled up under the blanket that I already had there.


	2. Sickness

Artemis was sleeping, well more of just sitting there on the couch, with Nelson, under the blanket I had slept on for around three months. So I decided to go back to my parents house were I found Barry, getting ready to leave. Bart had called Jay and Joan, they came over and then Barry broke the news. They all proceeded to cry about me.

Barry then left after Bart so he could go home and tell Aunt Iris. I knew this was going to have a lot of crying.

When I was a kid Aunt Iris came over so much. She was the coolest Aunt ever. I watched her on the news regularly. At one point she convinced me to start playing the violin, which I played until collage, because I had different plans, like living with Artemis and going to school for chemisty.

She had been like a second mother.

Barry zeta tubed home. He thought about my death, and how, Damn! I could have saved him! If me and Bart had just slowed down just a little. It's my fault.

Eventually he just pushed those thoughs away to the back of his head and just walked without really thinking about anything. Turn right then left. Then past the O' Koren's house, then right again.

When he got to the house he opened the door and walked thought the living room to the kitchen.

He sat down at the kitchen table a took a M&M and a small mint then ate them. Aunt Iris was home and waiting for him to get home, but she hadn't herd him come into the house, beacause she was in their bedroom folding laundry, unaware of my terrible death that had taken place early that day.

She came into the kitchen to get another load of clean laundry when she saw my uncle. He looked sad, depressed and like he had been crying for hours, which he had been. She took a seat in front of him.

"Barry, what's the matter?" Concern over flowed in her voice. Barry looked at my aunt. She looked right back and say the blame, sadness, and worry all crunched into those marvelous, blue eyes.

"Barry?" She asked one more. He grabbed her hands.

"Iris. Something terrible happened." He just said those three words and she was staring at him asking over, "What? Barry what happened." She grow more worried each time he didn't answer her. The world wasn't destroyed, so what else could have happened, someone dieing, she still didn't know that, I was dead.

"Wally, he was trying to help me and Bart neutralize the Reach technology that had already gone chrysalis. But..." He stared at his hands, she knew what was coming.

"He died, didn't he?" Aunt Iris asked. A hint of anger, but mostly pure devastation. Barry didn't look up.

Aunt Iris took this a yes. She started to tear up then just broke into a loud sob, like my mother had. Barry got up and picked my aunt from the chair. He brought her over to a chair in the living room, while almost tripping over her forgotten laundry basket. She was making heaving sounds, and sniffily, sad whimpers. From there my uncle help my aunt like a baby or small child. His hand was on her stomach, were inside, his children, my cousins, grew. That hit hime like a punch from Batman, he would know. I would never be able to meet them. I don't think he realized that I was watching him, and would be able to meet the children when they were born.

Aunt Iris had calmed down by now, thought she was still shaking.

"Barry please, he's not really dead, is he?" Aunt Iris said weakly, her voice almost sounded like Artemis', but a little more, Aunt Iris.

Artemis got the flu maybe once or twice a year, me, I got it _at least_ three times a year. One year she had it a skipped classes she felt so bad. I decided, when I was half was already half way to class, that I would stay home with her. When I got back she stared at me with a look that I was used to. The, "Wally, what the hell are you doing here?"

She right after sitting up from the bed said those same eight words. I proceeded to ignore her and sit right next to my, poor, sick, little girlfriend. and said happily,

"I'm taking care of you. Duh!"

Artemis rolled her eyes while smiling. I then stood up and walked to the kitchen. I picked out a small can of chicken noddle soup. Well maybe, three, two for me one for her. I then failed at making one, and seceded at the next two. When I went back to the bed room, Artemis was sitting upright, watching Law and Order, a favorite show of her's. I handed her a soup and she took it easily. I got up early most days and got coffee from a small shop called Eldder Wood's Coffee, then walked back and gave her a cup, if she was up by then, which she normally was.

She took the soup and tasted it. Now she looked even sicker than before. She still swallow the spoonful of soup and smileing at me.

"It's gross isn't it Arty?" I asked with a giddy smile.

Artemis nodded, "Don't call me Arty." she added with a quick smile. I then kissed her.

The next week I was sick.


	3. Identities

Dick, he coped with my death well.

If denial and spending most of his time trying to find a way to bring me back was coping well.

He left the team, he told Kaldur that he just needed some time off, that without me, it just wasn't the same.

Dick went over to Artemis and I's place the next day, or should I say just Artemis' place. He was in his civvies, a new thing for him, at least around Artemis. He told her his identity when we were eighteen or at least that's what he says.

"Wally!" Artemis was yelling and running towards me in the kitchen. This was defintly important. She ran right into me. Her nose jabbing into my chin. While I yelled "Ow!" she just ignored it and took out something very important.

"Nightwing left this at the house." Gasp for air. "It said 'Property of Dick Grayson' who was this little troll I knew when I went to Gotham Academy, he was a friend but he was two years younger than me so we only hung out at lunch. But anyway" Breathing break." I looked inside because, well, for all I knew Dick could have been dead! And look right here!"

She pointed to two lines on the first paper. It said,

_Name: Richard Grayson_

_Codename: Nightwing_

Of course she found out his identify.

"I knew his real name from when I was freaking fifteenth! Fifteenth! And I didn't even know!"

I looked at her and smiled. "Babe, you know I've know his name since I was thirteen and knew it was him, right?" I smirked and evil smirk.

I watched as her face of excitement looked up at me, growing sadder and angrier every second. "You knew all this time, and didn't tell me? Dammit Wally." Artemis said before slouching away to the couch.

Artemis said hello to him and invited him in. He looked at her. For one she looked tierd Her hair was a mess as well as the house.

"Sorry about the mess I was trying to clean the fridge and then Nelson got out of the bedroom and got into the garbage. " She half-heartedly smiled before picking up an old Vietnamese Lit paper that had been crumbled. It had my name on it with the same clean, sorta half between block-like and curly, a writing she learned to stop making fun of, but love insted.

Dick looked sadly at my paper. Me, his bestfriend of eight years was dead. I'm guessing we both were just noticeing this because while I now felt lonely, I also felt his loneliness.

Dick snapped out of it and looked at Artemis. He didn't need to be crying now. From the looks of it Artemis had done that enough.

"Okay so 'Mis," She glared at him with the use of the name me and Dick had given her at the age of sixteen, "Does, everybody in Wally's family know now."

"Um, I'm pretty sure, "She said tiredly, her stomach turned at my name "I left first last night so I don't know about Joan, Jay or Iris. But knowing the Allens, Bart and Barry..." She trailed off.

"Okay just stopped by for that."

He left pretty quickly after that, zeta tubing to Wayne Manor, were inside Bruce was writing a check.


	4. Times

At some point, I started rambling around with memories that reminded me of being alive, like the time I met little Lian.

I was just walking home from a class. After three hours of aimlessly writing down note of things I've know since I was fourteen, I just want to go home and sleep in a warm bed with Arty.

Little did I know that only and hours after I left, Jade had stopped by with Lian in tow. They knocked and Artemis opened and forced a smile. She was cooking diner, until the assassin slipped inside and smiled at the place.

"Wow, Artemis, nice place. Better than Roy Boy." She teased my friend, the other archer.

"Um, thanks Jade, but can I ask," She pinched the bridge of her nose, "why you're here?" She carefully walked bake to the kitchen to stir the pasta she was making.

"Well you see Artemis, I have some business to do and you need to watch, my daughter. Jade went into what Artemis thought was a backpack, and pulled out a tiny little bundle of blankets that had a little face sticking out.

Artemis rushed toward her sister, looking at the child. "Jade! You have a kid and didn't tell me? What about Mom?" She looked frighteningly at her elder sister.

Jade just laughed. "Don't worry, Mom knows. She bitches to me about bringing her with me constantly." She had a sorta motherly smile as she looked down at Artemis' niece.

"Who's the dad?' Jade wasn't really prepared for that question. Of course she knew, but she expected Artemis to shrug that part off. To her, it was a bad thing I had started to rub off on her.

"That would be Temper Tramtrum Roy." She smiled worriedly. Artemis almost slapped her upside the head from doing to Wally so often.

She took the small bundle from Jade and held her close. She looked mostly like Roy. A tiny dark red tuft of hair, the same pinkish pale skin. She had her eyes closed so Artemis couldn't see but she knew that all babies are born with greyish blue eyes like hers but lighter. Her facial features where more like Jade and hers though. The upturned eyes, hard to notice at an age so young, and the nose was just like theirs. Her mouth was Roy's though.

Jade left a bag and little Lian only twenty minutes later. Artemis put her in the small, foldable carrier jade had brought and made dinner.

I got to the house and opened it with a key I always had with me. I walked in a yelled, "I'm hoooome!" the sweet smell of pesto filled the air of our apartment. This, our usually routine of me coming into the kitchen, kissing Artemis' cheek with her reply of "Hey Babe.", and me then stealing a piece of food, was ruined when I walked in to find a small baby being bounced on Artemis' hip.

I jumped back in surprise and made a coughing sound. She might have well been our child because, I just happened to look like Roy, and Artemis was Jade's sister. My stomach flipped at the mere thought that this could be our child.

"Artemis! When did this, "I gestured to Lian by basically flailing my arms. "when did this happen."

Artemis walked forward and hit me upside the head with her free hand. "Wally, you are such an idiot sometimes, I swear. This. Is. Jade's. Kid. Not ours!" She shook her head.

This just made me more confused. "Wait, wait, wait, wait. How did I not know about this?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't even know Wally. I literally found out, like two hours ago." She walked back to the pot. "Wally con get this." She held Lian in her arms out to me. I walked forward and picked her up. She giggled. I tapped her on the nose. While Artemis dumped the pot of noddles into a strainer, he sat there and played with the child.

"Whats her name Arty?" Artemis turned around and smiled.

"Lian."

"Huh." I smiled and turned back to Lian. "So Lian whats it like being the daughter of an assassin ?" I said assassin like it was like being a celebrity. I saw Artemis smile while she was cooking dinner.

"Who's the dad?"

"Roy"

I almost coughed at the thought of that. I could understand like, some other criminal being the father but, Roy? That was, to say the least, just wrong. I manged to ignore that part and just make a sound between a 'oh' and a 'huh'. Instead I just said, out loud, "No wonder she looks like us."

Artemis walked over and sat next to me. She took a good look at her niece. "Yeah, she does."

Thirty minutes later it was a frantic mess. Dinner had go good, until there had to be a diaper change, then a bath, bedtime. Which ended with failure. So now, Artemis was running around, back and forth to the bag. I was rummaging though it trying to get things.

"Arg!" I yelled in frustration. I couldn't find the freaking bottle.

_Ding-Dong!_

That's when Barry walked in.

Artemis was carrying Lian over to me. I was o my knees looking up at him. Barry had his head down looking at his phone.

"Do you two like not have your phones on? I called li-" He looked up, at first a smile was on his face but it was know replaced by a look of pure horror. "Wally. Artemis. Please tell me I'm dreaming." He said. "Wally, Kid! Come on tell me I'm dreaming." He was running his hand though his hair, his face turning red. "Oh my god. Who did this happen, I know I haven't seen you two in like, what? Three months? But we've talked? Does your mother know Artemis? Do your parents know Wally? God you know they're going to kill you two right?"

The entire time Artemis and I stood there, trying not to giggle. Lian was giggling as well.

Barry saw us giggling and looked at us. "You two think this is funny?" He stared at us with a face between anger and confusion.

I walked forward my face flushed from laughing, Lian sitting in my arms. "Barry, meet Lian. Now you know her," Barry stared at me with rage, thinking I was done. "she is Artemis' niece." I smirked.

"Wally are you kidding me? You scare the living hell out of me, and she's just your niece?" He shakes his head and reaches forward to take the kid. I gladly handed her over. Barry smiles.

That was only a year ago. To say that I would have died a year later, no one would believe it, but here I am, dead.

Artemis was looking though a pile of papers I had left on the desk in our apartment.

Oh shit.

The ring. She was going to find the ring.

Oh my god, I never gave her the ring.

She picked up some papers from school. Mostly just ads and letters about crap we didn't care about.

Then under a test she had gotten a ninety-seven on, no good according to her, she found it. A small silver ring with a little arrow made of emerald. She stared at it. Next to it was a note.

_Remember to give Artemis the ring when you go, somewhere._

And then she cried. I watched her helplessly. I walked forward and hugged her from behind. I knew she couldn't feel it but I could. She was warm as if she was sick, but I knew she wasn't. She was sad and depressed and angry at me for leaving.

"Wally, why'd you leave?" She asked to no one if particular. I wanted to call out that I hadn't wanted to leave her or anyone. I planned to give her the ring in Paris, to get married somewhere nice and to invite a lot of people, unless she didn't want a lot of people or whatever. I just sat there and hugged her.

She stared at the ring for at least an hour, while I sat behind her and stared at it too. She got up all to quickly and ran to the bedroom. She opened up her dresser where inside a small pile of random jewelry, which she almost never wore, a sitting in a corner next to some shirts. She picked it up and brought it to the bed, spreading then out like a blanket. She looked at them until she found a simple, silver chain. She opened the latch and pit the ring on the necklace. She went to the bathroom and put the necklace on. She tucked the ring under her shirt and thought.

_Wally, you pick some bad times to be a hero._


End file.
